ALEINA

Burrufu on Amazon!

2011-09-21T15:29:00.003+02:00

...So there was something in the attic :)

At last, My Monster Burrufu is out and you can find it on Amazon! Yay!

Also, the furry guy's got his own website, check it out: www.mymonsterburrufu.com

Fashion illustration

2011-08-31T17:55:00.000+02:00

Oh la la, I'm back again ;) Some time ago I've been asked to create a few illustrations for a clothing boutique in the US. I had to take inspiration from style icons Audrey Hepburn, Kirsten Dunst, Alexa Chung and Tennessee Thomas, reinterpreting them with my own graphic style (if you click on the links you can see the reference pics I've been given).

It was such a fun job to do, when it comes to draw pretty ladies and cute dresses I'm the happiest gal in the world!

And soon they will come to life, appearing on totes, mugs, t-shirts and limited edition prints. I'm very curious to see the final result!

click to enlarge

Verne on vacation is online!

2011-04-27T19:58:00.000+02:00

As promised, here it is!! At last, online!

"Verne on vacation" is a short I've been animating with Alfredo Cassano and Sylvain Marc for Cartoon Network in 2009.

It was made in 3 months and won the Pulcinella award for best tv pilot last year. It's currently being considered as a tv feature, which is definitely a great news!

The animation is all made on Flash. Frame by frame traditional approach, good old brush tool.

(...yeah, and is there anything I haven't made using flash lately? :) I swear, I DO have some pencils on my desk!)

These characters were so much fun to animate. Simple shapes allow you to push the posing, play with extreme crazy looking drawings and focus on what you want to communicate.

You know those days when you wake up in the morning and just can't wait to start drawing? That was what happened to me when I worked on this film.

Again, a huge thanks to Sylvain for creating such an exciting project, being a fantastic director and a lovely friend.

I'm aliveee!!!

2011-04-26T23:37:00.002+02:00

from Leila Blue, vol.2 - © Mondadori

(click to see it full size!)

Oh my, sorry for the ridiculously long silence here... But yes, I'm alive and thankfully very busy! So much has been going on in the past few months, some very exciting projects I look forward to share with you.

However, nothing I can post here yet because of that "old friend" I'm sure everyone knows very well: Mr. Non-Disclosure-Agreement ;)

So here is another illustration I did for the 2nd book of Leila Blue. The 3rd volume was published err.. last month? Two months ago? I've sort of lost my sense of time, anyway I'll post some pictures from it very soon.
I'm working on the 4th volume now, which was supposed to be the last one *but*...! Apparently little girls are really loving Leila's books, so there's going to be plenty more for them to enjoy in the near future.

Speaking of illustrations, I've also completed "My Monster Burrufu". I'm happy with the way it came out and I hope to see it on paper very soon!

Right now I'm storyboarding on a really cool show for Cartoon Saloon, I actually just came back from Kilkenny and it was lovely to spend some time there with my old friends. The show is directed by the amazing Jez Hall, it's always a pleasure to work with him, he's such an inspiring and fun lad.

What else, oh yes! Eventually, I will soon be allowed to post "Verne on vacation", the short film I animated with Alf and Sylvain for Cartoon Network a while ago. Yay! So stay tuned, I hope you will love it as much as I did.

In a couple of months I will also be doing a 2-weeks storyboard seminar for the students at CSC, the same animation school I graduated from. It's my first time at teaching and it's going to be great fun :)

Hope you all had a fantastic holiday, talk soon!
Ale

More Burrufu!

2010-12-22T19:41:00.001+01:00

This is another illustration I made for the book "My monster Burrufu". Looks like something's going on in the attic.... :)

These last weeks of the year have been crazy, so much work to wrap and I am really looking forward to these holidays!

I wish you all a fantastic Christmas and tons of cutenessssssss in the new year!! :D

Ale

My monster Burrufu

2010-12-16T01:02:00.001+01:00

Here's a sneak peek of one of the books I'm illustrating right now! It's called "My monster Burrufu", written by the very talented Alberto Corral and it's one of the cuuuutest stories I've ever read. And when I say "cute"... well, you know me ;)

This one is a quick sketch I made on flash when I was designing the characters.

The book is going to be out very soon, so keep an eye out!

Leila and Florian

2010-11-22T23:44:00.004+01:00

One of the black and white illustrations from "Leila Blue" volume 2.

Character design for Leila Blue

2010-11-19T04:21:00.002+01:00

I thought it would have been nice to share some of the work I've done before starting illustrating on the actual book.

Here's some character design studies. The first picture shows how much Leila has changed since my first sketches, every time I look at this panel I can't decide if it's either Leila growing up or just totally different worlds :)

Creating these characters has been so much fun. As usual, it's all made with good old Flash.

Leila Blue vol.2

2010-11-09T18:15:00.006+01:00

Here are the first pictures from the second volume of Leila Blue, out in bookshops today.

Illustrations are on the way!

UPDATE: many of you asked me about how to get the books shipped outside Italy, so I just decided to create a paypal page to make that hopefully easier. The link is here or in the sidebar. Any questions, just let me know, and thanks again for your lovely supporting emails and comments :)

Lucca Comics 2010

2010-10-28T02:13:00.005+02:00

Hiya! Just a very quick update as I'll be at the Lucca Comics festival tomorrow and friday for the first official presentation of the book. Hope to see you there! Ciao :)

Here's the book!

2010-09-24T14:37:00.005+02:00

"Leila Blue" vol.1 - Mondadori

I grabbed a few copies of "Leila Blue" on tuesday but I've been so busy wrapping the illustrations of volume 2 that I've barely looked at it. Well, so here it is!

And it's super glossy! That feature actually came as a big surprise, I thought the border was going to have a regular matte lilac finish. Even the tiny windows shine as they catch the light! ...Ok enough with the girly rambling :)

Anyway, I must say it's a pretty sweet book, nice and thick. I'll take more pictures as soon as I can!

For those who asked it, the illustrations are in black and white, plus 16 full-color pages.

160 pages - 14 x 20 cm (5.5" x 7.8")

Leila Blue

2010-09-17T19:16:00.007+02:00

And finally here it is, I can show you the cover of my first illustration book!

I've been working on it in the past months and still am actually, as it's going to be a series of 4 volumes. The story is very sweet, I admit I utterly enjoyed reading it!

So this is the final look of the main character, it's pretty different from my first sketches :)

I haven't seen it printed yet, so I'm very curious about it. I'll post pictures as soon as I get to grab one copy!

The book is out on the 21st of September! Yay Leila!

Oh, and yes. It's all done in good old Flash ;)

Flash

2010-08-15T01:09:00.009+02:00

Flash is the name of a friend of mine's pet, which also happened to be Julius' dad.

Gorgeous cat, huge, fierce, won countless feline competitions but most of all he was an amazing friend with a lovely personality. He passed away today, so I felt like doing this quick sketch that will never be able to capture his beauty but hopefully send a bit of love to his family.

Old book design

2010-06-29T14:41:00.004+02:00

Wow, 2 posts today! Here is some old design I made for the book series I mentioned earlier. My idea for the illustrations was having tiny and kind of cute characters, but then the design changed and evolved according to the publisher's needs - I just guess it wasn't commercial enough :) I'm quite happy with the final result anyway, I hope I'll be able to show something soon, as the first volume is out in a few months!

And yes I'm still alive... ;)

Just for fun

2010-06-29T13:05:00.001+02:00

My friend Angela is a CG modeler and makes amazing maquettes, so when she asked me to make a few drawings of Tarzan for her I squealed with joy :D I actually had to draw him in a stiff vitruvian kind of pose (she is making some cool experiments in Zbrush) but when I started sketching from the movie I couldn't help but drawing more poses! I am so busy at the moment that I don't get much time to do personal work, so that was a real fun break.

UPDATE! Verne WON THE AWARD at the Cartoons on the Bay festival!

2010-04-18T23:50:00.002+02:00

A huge congratulations Sylvain and all the amazing crew at Cartoon Network, we're so proud to have been part of this project!

Verne at the Cartoons on the Bay festival

2010-04-12T14:20:00.016+02:00

Yay! So two reasons to be happy: one is the nomination, and the other one is that I can finally show you a picture from it!

As I already mentioned, a few months ago Alf and I had the pleasure to animate on this great flash short film for Cartoon Network, with our friend and super talented director Sylvain Marc.

The pilot has been recently selected to go to further development and we are very excited about it!
So here are a couple of images for you to bite.

The first two are actual stills from the short, the last one is an early character concept made by Sylvain.

I hope it will be aired soon, so I can show also some animation ;)

Oscars weekend

2010-03-10T20:07:00.009+01:00

I'm just back from a very quick but intense trip to LA. Alf and I went there to support our Kells pals at the Oscars and we had a fantastic time with them.

The party at the huge irish pub in Hollywood was crazy, we had SO much fun even if we were still jetlagged! We followed the Awards ceremony from there and it was quite exciting to see on the screen this scene Alf and I had the honor to animate to represent the movie.

The characters from this year's Best Animated Feature category had to say what being nominated meant to them, so this was our take on it.

We animated Aisling on good old Flash. Brush tool, frame by frame.

Thanks Cartoon Saloon for this awesome opportunity.

Many thanks to Aaron at Cold Hard Flash for the lovely post! LINK

The secret of Kells at the 2010 Oscars!!

2010-02-02T16:09:00.005+01:00

The Secret of Kells has been nominated for an OSCAR! Yaaay!

That one on top is the very first scene Alf and I animated on the movie. It's been ages ago but feels like yesterday :)

Congratulations everyone and good luck!

Missing in action

2009-11-23T12:41:00.024+01:00

An old design I made a while ago for the little witch girl.

The character has evolved a lot since then, so you'll find her a bit different in the book ;)

Hi all!
It's been a long while since my last post.. Mad schedules as usual, I'm still waiting for my summer holidays while Christmas decorations have already invaded the town! I even hoped to get a little cold or something but it looks like I can't enjoy a day off this year ;) Ah well, enough with the rumbling!

So, lot of things are happening here. A couple of months ago I had the pleasure of working with Alf on a very cool short film for Cartoon Network and since I can't show any of the artwork yet, I'll just take the chance to thank and introduce our friend and director of the film, Sylvain Marc. I don't want to say much as I think his work speaks for itself loudly and clear, he's such an utterly talented guy, but I care to say that working with him has been one of the most enjoyable experience an animator can look for. This project really showed up how much more can be achieved when the crew is highly motivated, everyone gave 110% and it's great when you wake up in the morning looking forward to have fun with your work, it's just how it should always be :)
So yeah, all animated on good old flash by myself, Alfredo and Sylvain, used wacom tablets but drawing frame by frame the traditional way (as we like to!).

You can see some of mr.Marc's work on his blog, here's the link http://polyminthe.blogspot.com

After the CN short we've been involved in a couple of other projects, mainly storyboards for tv shows, but there's a little news I am very excited about and that I can finally share.. I'm officially working on my very first illustrated book :)
It's a lovely novel written by M.Dubini about a little witch and her family, very cute, very vintage, and takes place in London. Actually there will be more than one book coming out but I'm trying to stay focused on the first one. It will be published next year by Mondadori, so stay tuned for updates..

Other news for the italians.. The secret of Kells will premiere in Italy this saturday in Turin, during the Sotto18 film festival. There will be two screenings:
saturday 28th of november - 20.30 at Cinema Massimo 1
and friday 4th of december - 18.30 at Cinema Massimo 3
Alf and I will be there and on the friday we'll have a short Q+A after the movie.

During the festival I'll be also part of the jury for the Kids Short Competition, I'm so curious to see what those little ones have come up with!

And last but not least, a news for the US friends. Kells will have an Oscar-qualifying run from December 4-10 at the AMC Burbank 8, with a 7pm show each day.
Here you can find all the screening details and info about tickets. Bring your friends! Oscar Qualifying Screenings

The movie will have a wider release in the States in march 2010, probably around St.Patrick's day. Go Ireland!

Have a great weekend everyone, talk soon!

Tom Caulfield!

2009-10-04T14:12:00.008+02:00

Good autumn everyone :)

In the last few months I've been mad busy working on several new things I can't show yet (sigh) so I decided to introduce you to my good friend Tom Caulfield. He's one of the greatest animators I've ever met and definitely one my favourite people on the planet.

Check out his blog!

Sky Doll hommage

2009-08-31T00:31:00.005+02:00

This is my little and very quick contribution to the "Sky Doll hommage concours".
It's definitely been a fun way to wrap a lovely weekend!
And tomorrow...starting a new exciting job ;)

The secret of Kells Flash animation

2009-07-17T13:03:00.005+02:00

I've been doing some updates and added a few animations on my website now that The Secret of Kells is out and released in many countries (New York premiere is this weekend!)
So here it is: www.alessandrasorrentino.com

As many of you were curious to see the "special" flash sequences Alf and I animated for the movie, I decided to post some of them here.
Digital Fx are made by Jeremy Purcell.
The blackboard effect has been applied later by Digital Graphics on our black on white animation.

I might post some of the traditional animation here later, but if you wish to have a peek now, just go to my website!
Enjoy :)

Annecy UPDATE!

2009-06-13T23:08:00.006+02:00

Just got the news, The Secret of Kells won the Audience Award at the Annecy festival!

Hurray to the whole crew!!!

a frame from one of the Flash sequences Alf and I animated

Annecy 09 and "The secret of Kells" US release

2009-06-10T22:01:00.006+02:00

Just a silly doodle but still..it's a new post :) Life has been nuts over the last couple of months or so, but finally Alf and I decided to take a tiny little break and go to the Annecy festival!!

We're leaving tomorrow, can't wait to meet up with old friends, get inspired by tons of animated films out there and support the Kells crew, as the movie is in feature competition this year.

About that, I have a juicy news for all the US followers: there's going to be an american release in early 2010! It will be a limited one, but if the opening goes well, that might encourage a wider distribution. So.. don't wait for the dvd and go to the cinema!!!

Song of the sea

2009-03-11T21:44:00.039+01:00

In the past months I've been doing some animation on Tomm Moore's new feature film development. It's a lovely story inspired by irish mithology called "Song of the Sea".. and it's going to be 2D!!

This is the movie teaser made by Cartoon Saloon (animation, character design and bgs) and Digital Graphics (compositing and animation effects).

We animated everything on wacoms. The guys at Cartoon Saloon used Tv Paint, while Alf and I worked on Flash.

The animation has a traditional approach, frame by frame, no tweens. Brush tool for the rough and pencil tool for the cleanup.

Hope you'll enjoy it.

(HQ recommended)

..a little "behind the scenes"

(you can spot part of a scene I animated)

Movie premiere in Dublin

2009-02-19T20:49:00.011+01:00

We're ready to leave!

"The Secret of Kells" will premiere in Ireland this sunday. Gala screening at the close of the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival - Savoy movie theatre.

(online tickets are sold out - tickets will be available at the venue 1 hour before the screening)

Can't wait to see you guys there!

The secret of Kells - english trailer

2009-01-25T20:10:00.010+01:00

"Brendan and the secret of Kells" on the Asifa Italia website

2008-12-13T12:51:00.014+01:00

Alf and I have been asked to write a few words about the movie on the Asifa Italia website.

So we thought it would have been nice to share it here, especially for our families and friends who always complain that our blogs are in english only.. :)

Buona lettura!

---------------------------------------------------------------------

a cura di Alessandra Sorrentino e Alfredo Cassano

E' finalmente online il trailer del film d'animazione "Brendan and the secret of Kells", lungometraggio 2d coprodotto da Cartoon Saloon (Irlanda), Les Armateurs (Francia) e ViviFilm (Belgio), che vedra' la luce per la prima volta nelle sale cinematografiche a Parigi, l'11 febbraio 2009.
Per il momento il trailer e' disponibile in francese, distribuito da Gebeka, mentre il trailer originale in inglese distribuito da Disney/Buena Vista sara' online nei prossimi giorni.

IX secolo. Brendan, un ragazzo di dodici anni, cresce circondato da monaci nell'abbazia fortificata di Kells, sotto la tutela di suo zio, Abbott Cellach, un uomo severo e autoritario che lo educa con grande rigore, confidando nel fatto che un giorno potra' seguire i suoi stessi passi.

Ma ben presto la monotona vita del giovane Brendan viene sconvolta dall'arrivo di Brother Aidan, un anziano maestro illuminato che gli mostra la bellezza dell'arte e stimola la sua creativita' attraverso le pagine dello straordinario, ma non ancora completo, Libro di Kells.

La minaccia di una terribile invasione vichinga e' imminente, tuttavia Brendan e' determinato a inseguire la strada dei suoi sogni: completare le ultime pagine del Libro prima che sia troppo tardi. Per farlo dovra' intraprendere un rischioso viaggio e, accompagnato dalla misteriosa fatina Aisling e dal gatto Pangur Ban, scoprira' per la prima volta il mondo al di fuori delle mura dell'abbazia, e le sue piu' profonde paure.

Kells e' un piccolo centro abitato che sorge nella contea di Kilkenny, in Irlanda. Ed e' proprio qui che tutto ha inizio, 10 anni fa, presso lo studio Cartoon Saloon, dall'entusiasmo del regista Tomm Moore e il suo team di giovani talenti, ai quali col tempo si sono affiancati artisti provenienti da tutto il mondo.
Il film e' forse uno degli ultimi lungometraggi realizzati in animazione tradizionale con carta e matita. La ricerca stilistica, particolarmente influenzata dall'arte medievale, ha dato luogo ad uno scenario visivamente suggestivo e ricco di dettagli, a cui si integra un character design decisamente grafico e dal gusto fortemente illustrativo.
Anche il team di animazione, del quale abbiamo avuto l'onore di far parte, ha avuto lo stimolante compito di mantenere questa coerenza stilistica. E' stato adottato un approccio "pose-to-pose", che favorisse l'appeal del singolo disegno, conservando pero' la forza emotiva dei personaggi.
Particolarmente interessante e' stato per noi curare anche le "sequenze speciali" del film (sogni, flashback, racconti), realizzate in Flash e graficamente differenti l'una dall'altra.

In un periodo in cui l'animazione sembrerebbe orientarsi definitivamente verso il 3d, "Brendan and the secret of Kells" rappresenta una preziosa eccezione che ci auguriamo possa raggiungere presto le sale cinematografiche italiane.

Brendan and the Secret of Kells - french trailer

2008-12-04T13:03:00.009+01:00

And finally, here it is!
This is the french theatrical trailer, distribuited by Gebeka. The original english version by Disney/Buena Vista Ireland will come in a few days.
Hope you'll enjoy it.

More pirates!

2008-11-05T02:10:00.014+01:00

storyboard panel from "Monsters & Pirates" - Copyright Graphilm

Another character shot from the pirates show. It's been so much fun working on that!

At the moment I'm boarding on a real sweet pre-school show for BBC, and the great thing is to have the chance of working again with the amazing artist and friend Jez Hall.

We have a little news at home. Our friend Lia just came up with this lovely gift, and obviously we couldn't resist to those smart eyes.. His name's Julius. Welcome to the family :)

Children book illustration exhibition

2008-10-09T16:50:00.012+02:00

one of the exhibition postcards

I've been asked to participate in a children book illustrations exhibition here in Turin. Had very short time to wrap it up, so I just decided to tell a little and very simple story, which took place a few months ago in our living room..

Starring: our beloved kitten Cirillo and the hamster Fantasmino :)

If you're curious to read the story, just click on the two pictures below. Enjoy.

page 1

page 2

Pirates

2008-08-21T17:04:00.005+02:00

A couple of character shots from the pirates show I am working on at the moment. All drawn on Flash.

Ciao ciao piccolino..

2008-08-09T22:11:00.003+02:00

Sweet Cirillo didn't make it. He passed away at sunrise, with us beside him.

We miss him so much already.. Take care, little one.

Sad news.

2008-08-05T00:18:00.013+02:00

Our little tiger is very sick.

We just found out he has got a horrible viral disease called FIP, feline infectious peritonitis, and there is no known cure for that. It occurs when the cat reacts inappropriately to feline coronavirus infection, better known as the lousy flu virus. Most cats mount an immune response after getting infected, kick the virus out and live happily ever after. But for reasons that are still not fully understood an unfortunate few cats develop this disease, especially the young ones.

Sadly, kittens with FIP don't survive more than a few weeks.

Our heart is broken but we are trying to do our best and make him feel as loved as possible.. It's so sad, he's only 5 months old.

We made a blog called "Cirillo", a diary with which we hope to get close to the people who are experiencing the same nightmare and help all the cat lovers to understand and recognize its symptoms.

Studying a 70's japanese masterpiece

2008-06-29T20:50:00.018+02:00

Haha wo tazunete sanzenri, also known as 3000 Leagues in Search of Mother or just Marco is an amazing anime tv series aired around 1976, directed by Isao Takahata.
It is based on the chapter "From the Apennines to the Andes" of the novel Cuore, by the italian writer Edmondo De Amicis, and it's part of the project World Masterpiece Theatre, a number of TV series based on classics of literature from around the world, produced by Nippon Animation over the course of 30 years. It includes "Heidi", "Anne of Green Gables", "The adventures of Tom Sawyer" and many other jewels of japanese animation.

With a bit of surprise I figured out that really few people out of Europe know about it. Fortunately this show was very popular in Italy when I was young and for what I can remember it kept me entertained for many hours of my childhood.
Recently I had the chance of watching it all again after many years, and I was completely stunned.
I don't think I've ever seen a tv show with such an intensity of storytelling, richness of atmosphere, backgrounds, emotional intimacy of the characters and music. The soundtrack is performed by a quite impressive orchestra and includes more than 120 beautiful and all different tracks. Hayao Miyazaki also worked on this series, he was responsible of layouts and continuity and to me he had done a great work on that, as you really feel like you "know" the town, with its narrow streets, the squares, the harbour, and you would be able to actually walk from a place to another if you happened to be there.

The story initially takes place in Genoa, Italy. Marco is a young boy who lives with his father Pietro and a cute little monkey called Amedio, while his mother left for Argentina to find work. Letters from her arrive regularly until one day they suddenly stop. So, worried for what might have happened to her, Marco decides to embark upon a long journey to Argentina in the hope of finding his mother.
The animation is surprisingly good too, great posing, right emotional timing.. and it's "just" a tv show! What would I give to see on tv something like that these days.

So during the weekend I decided to take some time and rewatch a few sequences, observing and sketching. I really enjoyed that.
Here are some drawings I made on Flash.

p.s. The dvds were pretty hard to find, but for those interested I got a good edition with english subtitles here

A bit of relax

2008-06-24T01:09:00.005+02:00

Today I got to enjoy a whole day free from work! The 24th of June here is San Giovanni's day, the patron saint of Turin and as per every year all the town celebrated with shows in the main squares, historical re-enactments, small markets selling delicious typical products, athletic events and of course, fireworks on the Po river. So nice to take it easy on a weekday.

Brendan at the Annecy festival

2008-06-09T16:43:00.018+02:00

another still from "Brendan and the secret of Kells"

So, one of the most popular animation festivals in the world has just started! I can't be there this year cause I am very busy with work, but I am so excited as there will be the first public behind-the-scenes presentation of "Brendan and the Secret of Kells". The art director Ross Stewart and the director Tomm Moore will lead a conference and present early character design and visual development, showing how they evolved to the present version in the final film. Some sections of the movie will also be screened and Tomm just let me know that they will be showing a whole sequence Alf and I animated, so if you happen to be there, you can see it on Thursday at 14.00 - Petite Salle, Bonlieu.

Enjoy the festival :)

This app is fun!

2008-05-30T11:05:00.025+02:00

I just found this thing called Flipbook. It's a little app on the Benetton (!?!) website that lets you make small straight-ahead animations with one brush tool and one onion skin view.

Of course, we got many other way more professional tools to animate, but these toys to me are just irresistable :D So here is the silly thing I did this morning in about 1 minute to try how it worked.

..And you can even export it to pdf, print and cut out your cute rectangular flipbook!!! I know, I am such a kid.

Cirillo

2008-05-24T17:07:00.012+02:00

Mmm..it's been a while since the last post! Unfortunately I am not allowed to show anything I've been working on the last couple of months, so..here is our little lynx! I know, it's not really animation related but who cares, he's so cute! :)

Totoro - 20 years anniversary

2008-04-28T12:03:00.001+02:00

In April 1988 one of the loveliest animated film from Studio Ghibli saw the light of day. So, I couldn't help but celebrate and draw one of my favourite moments in the movie.. :)

More flash animaton

2008-03-13T04:52:00.004+01:00

(HQ recommended)

So, as requested I am posting more animation from Wulfie. This is a scene I made with Alfredo, I animated the little girl Libby and the turtle and he animated the wolf and the hare.

As for the "skipping" one posted below, this scene is part of the ending sequence of the trailer and it was made entirely in Flash. With much fun!

Wulfie

2008-02-11T23:54:00.012+01:00

(HQ recommended)

a little scene I animated for Wulfie - end credits

In the past weeks I've been animating on a tv series development called "Wulfie". It's a very cute show about a young girl who finds she shares her room with the 'big bad wolf' from the fairytales... The rough animation on the trailer has been done between myself, Alfredo and my friend Tom Caulfield on wacom tablets. We used Flash, but in a very traditional way - basically frame by frame with the brush tool. I have to say it's been fun! I was very interested in testing this technique more deeply, and it turned out to be very handy and quick. The rough animation we provided will then be cleaned up and painted with another software.

This will be more less the final look of the show.

concept design by Tom Caulfield

Brendan and the Secret of Kells

2008-01-14T20:29:00.005+01:00

a couple of stills from the movie I poached from Tomm's blog

So that's the final title for the movie, "Brendan and the Secret of Kells".

Buena Vista is apparently starting the official marketing, so things are finally moving, I can't wait to see it completed.

A big hug to the Kilkenny crew, wherever you guys are!

The tiny couple on Cold Hard Flash!

2008-01-10T12:35:00.004+01:00

a scene concept I did for And I Love

Yesterday "Alf and I" have been featured on Cold Hard Flash with our music video And I Love, a happy coincidence as it was Alfredo's birthday!

Thank you so much Aaron for your nice words and Buon Compleanno Alf!

Here's the link to the post: http://www.coldhardflash.com/2008/01/irish-couple-work-for-brennans-love.html

Last scene on Brendan

2007-12-13T13:35:00.003+01:00

a few key drawings from my very last scene on Brendan and the secret of Kells, with brother Aidan looking at how one of the precioussss berries turns into ink.

Finito!
A few days ago Alf and I packed and sent our last sequence on Brendan. It's been a very busy month, but all went good and we happily celebrate with a relaxing weekend in Paris, enjoying good museums, a little shopping and walking around with old friends.
Still have to clean up the paper mess in the studio though.. :)

there you go..bigger!

2007-11-15T11:36:00.001+01:00

For those who asked for a bigger version of the "storyboard to screen" video, I finally managed to upload a swf on my website.. :)

CLICK TO WATCH IT

Now back to my scenes...ciao!

Happy Ale

2007-10-22T00:06:00.002+02:00

I'm finally settled in my new apartment in Turin! Yay!!
Italy is lovely these days, gorgeous autumn colours and a fantastic weather exactly as I expected. Winter is coming though, the air is getting cooler and the chestnut men have already taken their strategic spots in the city centre :)
Alfredo and I started animating on the feature again, working from home is very comfortable and I totally love the studio room we organized.. it's so cosy and there's all the equipment and supplies we need - italian coffee machine included, of course!
Quiz: ...who remembers who's the happy fella on the top? ;)

Skunk Fu - STORYBOARD TO SCREEN comparison

2007-10-21T23:01:00.001+02:00

Update: CLICK HERE FOR A BIGGER VERSION

A few sequences from an episode I boarded for the tv show "Skunk Fu" at Cartoon Saloon.
It's all done with Flash.
Too bad the video viewer is so small...ah well!

Heading south

2007-10-07T00:02:00.003+02:00

So just a quick post for friends to say that I'm still alive and happy and so so busy :)
I came back only a couple of weeks ago from my trip to the States, which was awesome!! Thanks to our friends Armand Serrano, Marcelo Vignali, Marcos Mateu, Paul Lasaine, Evan Smith, Mike Nguyen and all the lovely people we met at Sony, Pixar and July Films, we had a really fantastic time.

Back home I had to sort out immediately my moving to Italy.. I flew there to sign contracts and whatnot, back to Ireland again to pack everything and start my new freelance job....Nuts!! :D
It's almost all done, the car is exploding but ready to go and I hope our cute evil hamster Filippo will enjoy the roadtrip. We are leaving tomorrow morning!
It's a very strange feeling to leave after these years, but I am so excited about the chance of spending a while in my hometown. I've been missing the sunshine so much lately and the idea of staying close to my family and friends again after so much time makes me feel all warm and smiley :)
The broadband in the new apartment should be ready by the end of next week, so I hope I'll be able to post some drawings very soon!

The picture on the top was taken while I was in San Francisco, it's been on my desktop during these messy weeks as a reminder to stay relaxed..!

Have a lovely weekend and.. talk to you later ;)

Viking sequence

2007-08-21T20:43:00.003+02:00

Some still frames from one of the flash sequences in "Brendan and the Secret of Kells".
I animated those scenes with Alfredo a few months ago, just after we finished working on our endless 2d-traditional sequence :)
It was a lot of fun, especially playing with the shapes of the vikings, which were made of ink so basically all frame by frame animation.
Just brush strokes for the crows in the background as well, while the scared monks are made with symbols.
Concept design by Adrien Merigeau

Skunk Fu Website!

2007-08-08T17:25:00.006+02:00

After successfully airing on BBC this summer, "Skunk Fu" has got his own website!!
Check it out!

www.skunkfu.tv

You can watch the first 26 episodes on weekdays at 3.45/3.50 on BBC1 and on Saturdays at 6pm on the CBBC Channel. It has already premiered on ABC Australia. Yay!

Here's the SKUNK FU Title Sequence. Click play and enjoy! There's a few of my animations here and there... :)

Back to Ireland

2007-08-02T23:00:00.003+02:00

I'm finally back from my very relaxing holidays!! I've spent about one month travelling across my beloved Italy and visiting some other gorgeous places.
We started with a few days in the stunning Rome, then in Brindisi, Alfredo's home in the south. Brindisi is a very cute and ancient town in the region of Puglia; its natural harbour has a particular shape that reminds the branches of a deer.. really spectacular.

Top: the Colosseum and rooftops in Rome
Bottom: Brindisi, the harbour

Then I've been visiting my family in Bergamo, at the foothills of the Alps, for a couple of weeks - oh, lotsssss of mamma's yummy food! - The upper city is a hilltop medieval town, surrounded by 17th century enormous defensive walls, very charming. It's connected to the lower city by the funicular, which offers a lovely view.

Above: the funicular in Bergamo

We went all together to the coast in the centre of Italy enjoying the sunshine, good books and the sound of the sea. On the way back to Bergamo we stopped in a lovely town, which is actually one of the smallest European microstates, San Marino. It's a country in the Apennine Mountains, completely surrounded by Italy. It has got a very irregular terrain and its highest point, the Monte Titano, is situated at 749 metres above sea level. On its three peaks are located the three towers of San Marino, which are depicted on the national flag. That day I visited also the national torture museum....really scary and disturbing, but a lot interesting from the history point of view.

Top: San Marino, Monte Titano - rooftops

Bottom: the National Ttorture Museum

After that, Alfredo and my dear friends Jesse and Adrien from Cartoon Saloon joined me in Bergamo and from that point, the roadtrip to Ireland started!!!!!!
We had a few stops in some very gorgeous places. First of all, my hometown Turin - I've been missing it soooo much, I just love it. The weather was so pleasantly warm even in the night and we had delicious gelato and soft, really tasty pizza like I haven't eaten in ages. :)

Top: old picture of Turin, Via Pietro Micca

Bottom: a couple of study sketches from different views.

The next day we were relaxing by the quiet Avigliana Lake "Lago Piccolo", on the south side of the Val di Susa, and later in the evening we've been walking to get to the nearby massive Sacra di San Michele, a religious complex founded between 983 and 987 by Benedictine monks, situated on the top of Mount Pirichiano at more than 1000 mt. It's one of the greatest architectonic buildings in Europe among those dating back to the Romanesque period. It's huge and very high, and it's incredible to see how the basement, the staircase and the counterforts are literary blended with the sinuous mountain itself. The view from the top terrace is really jaw-dropping, I've been there a few times in my life and every time it's just an incredible experience.

Top: ducks in the Lago Piccolo, Avigliana
Bottom: Sacra di San Michele

That was the last stop in Italy. After that, la France! Really beautiful landscapes across the Alps. Adrien took us to a very cute village, Perouges, a medieval walled town near Lyon. Very pictoresque houses, small cobblestoned lanes, an old well, a fortress church and stores with stalls and evocative signs. Just lovely!

The only weird note was the 'naked man' under a fig tree at midnight......Eeew! >_<

Top: Perouges and...the fig tree.

That said, it's been a fantastic holiday!

Little summer thingies

2007-06-10T15:49:00.001+02:00

Oh my, it has been a while! I've been working with Alfredo on the flash sequences of the film, which I have to say are a lot of fun to animate.
Some of them are very different from each others, in terms of graphic style and animation timing.. my favourite one is probably the 'white chalk on a blackboard' sequence. It's basically frame by frame animation and childish drawings that come from Brendan's hand. I think it came up pretty cute and I can't wait to see the final texture effect that the oversea studio is adding to it.
Two more weeks of work and I'll see myself saying goodbye to the Cartoon Saloon studio and Kilkenny after all this time.. it feels so weird! But after that, a long well deserved holiday in my sunny Italy!!! :D

The sketch on the top is an early study for a little story I'm developing for the Cartoon Saloon Anthology. The book should come out in Autumn, I'm very curious to see what everyone here is sneakily working on!!

Enjoy the rest of the weekend!

Arriva la Primavera..

2007-04-15T00:40:00.002+02:00

A modelsheet page from "Marla"

And eventually Easter brought bits of sunshine, a gentle and refreshing spring feeling in the air and lighter clothes.. it feels really better!

Even though changes between seasons always make me feel kind of nostalgic.. and today is also a little weird because I was animating my very last scene from Brendan and the Secret of Kells.
I just can't believe it is actually going to an end after all these months..
I've been working mostly on Aisling, the little fairy. She's a very funny and bizarre character to animate, I thing I'm going to miss her :)
The film is looking very nice and particular and the background design is just lovely. I really can't wait to see how it'll look on the big screen!

So I had to say goodbye to my messy lightbox, at least during the working time. From next week I'll start animating with Alfredo the flash sequence of the film!
It will be about four minutes of 'traditional animation on wacom', as I use to call it.. I am actually very excited about this, even if to me the warmth of pencil and paper is irreplaceable, sometimes it feels so free doing the same thing on flash, and the immediate feedback thing is just amazing ;)

Have a nice weekend everybody and take care,
Ale

A few days in Turin

2007-03-24T21:09:00.001+01:00

So here's some pictures I took last week in Torino, my home town.

I've taken a break to recharge my batteries and it was really worth it.. it had been a fantastic time, as usual. Sunny days, awesome food, hanging up with old friends again and having long pleasant walks in the city centre.. Eating gelato... I missed all that so much! :)

Every time I come back to Italy I wish I could stay there for good, it's just so beautiful..
But work calls and so on, and now I'm back to Ireland and back to my coat!

other pictures at this link: http://picasaweb.google.com/pandaleina/Torino

Rainplace

2007-02-22T01:11:00.000+01:00

Rainy, rainy, rainy days here in Kilkenny...

But this post is not to curse the irish weather (well, not this time..)!

It is to introduce you to a very talented artist who is also one of the nicest persons I've ever known. His name is Mike Nguyen and he has just made a new personal website called "Rainplace". Yay!

Here is the link: www.rainplace.net

Above: illustration by Mike Nguyen

--------------------------------------------

And here is the link of "My Little World", the feature film he's directing at July Films. http://www.julyfilms.com/

Have a look, you'll find amazing things :)

Enjoy the rest of the week, and me..I'll hopefully come back soon..

ciao-ciao

Sleepy Sunday

2007-01-28T03:19:00.001+01:00

Some other Skunk Fu storyboard panels.

The first one is from "The Art of Darkness", the others are from my first board, "The Art of Monkey Launching". I can't wait to see the final look of the episodes.

Frosty saturday

2007-01-27T17:43:00.003+01:00

Ahh laziness.
I wanted to stop by the studio today, but it looks so cold outside..!

Another image from "Marla", my graduation film. I remember I had a rough animation test of that walk scene, somewhere....:(
Ahh messiness.

Buon 2007!

2007-01-06T02:20:00.002+01:00

..I got a new friend! :)
Well, I'm finally back from my holidays in Italy...it was really a great time, very quiet and relaxing as I wished..my mother is a fantastic sicilian chef and every single meal was a joy for the senses ;) I could enjoy sleeping till late as I love to, chatting with my sister and I had also the time to knit a scarf for Alfredo.. :)
The weather was pleasantly warm, especially in Rome, where I spent the first of the year..that city is just amazing, so full of beauty and history..
And now back to reality, with a terrible cold caused by the temperature difference! Yay!
So, since I'm not getting out of bed, I decided to upload "Marla" on the blog. I haven't watch it for ages and it looks sooo old to me...well, it was actually 2004 when the short was completed and the three little girls graduated...:) But I still love the style and the atmosphere we created, it brings me a lot of memories.
Here is the Link:

Hope you'll enjoy it and wish you all a lovely new year!
Ale

Pasta al Salmone

2006-12-13T00:22:00.001+01:00

..ah well, I didn't know how to call this post, that's only what we cooked today for dinner ;)

I've just made some few seconds sketches from Peter Pan to analize a scene and I realized that I should do it more often because it's so enjoyable...and studying frame by frame those old school animations is always amazing.. sometimes depressing but still amazing... :)

so, other 8 days of work and I'll be packing my suitcase for Italy! these holidays will be so short but I can't wait to see my family and have breakfast with my favourite biscuits.

When I was young..

2006-12-03T01:15:00.001+01:00

..When I was young I really Loved a japanese tv series called Memole ("Memoru" is the japanese title). It was one of the cutest things in the world, soft watercolour backgrounds and hundreds of tiny precious bouncin' pixies...!
I've just found this super-old drawing I made in the school years during some boring lessons, I was probably seventeen..:)

I wish I could post something newer..it's been a long time since the last one! I'm trying to work on a couple of illustrations in the free time, the animation on Brendan is getting very busy, more sleepless night and so on, but it's all good ;)

Hope to write here soon again, take care

Ale

Ice-skating Skunk

2006-10-13T23:08:00.001+02:00

These are from "The Art of Turtle Watching", my last Skunk Fu storyboard.
It was great to work on that episode, very funny stuff, lot of action and crazy chasings on ice and snow.
And Skunk looked so cute with the snow hat... :)

More from Marla

2006-10-13T00:13:00.002+02:00

These are some of the secondary characters I've made with my friend Alice for our film "Marla".

And this is actually Marla, but with more comfortable shoes...she usually wears high heel shoes...
I've posted more stuff in my "marla" blog! Click on the link and enjoy :)

The Art of Leaving Them Laughing

2006-10-06T00:31:00.001+02:00

These are some storyboard drawings I've made for my pal Razmo's "The Art of Leaving Them Laughing", a very crazy and cool Skunk Fu episode!
Good night,
Ale

Sc_042

2006-09-30T19:59:00.001+02:00

Here's a picture I've made for Skunk Fu a while ago, when I was boarding the episode "The Art of Darkness". The shot had to link two sequences, but it had been finally cut for timing reasons. It's made in flash, as the whole storyboard.
..Really nice days and lot of fun in that crazy crew! :)

Amici per sempre

2006-09-24T18:18:00.001+02:00

Just me and my lovely cat Red..

A new blog and a new chapter

2006-09-20T23:37:00.003+02:00

I finally posted some images on the blog of "Marla", the short film I made with my two friends Alice and Simona two years ago...ahh memories. Anyway, I'll add pictures little by little. here is the link:
http://calzette-rosa.blogspot.com
hope you'll enjoy it

Background painting by Donato Sansone (top) and Simona Ciraolo (bottom)

And...speaking of memories, here is the lovely card the Skunk crew have made for me and alf. We got a 'goodbye party' for our last day on the show..from next monday our desks will be downstairs, in the room where we'll be animating again with pencil and lightbox on the feature film "Brendan and the Secret of Kells", another fantastic project here in Cartoon Saloon.. So lots of different feelings, excitement, melancholy..we really had a great time on Skunk Fu, especially for the very nice people we worked with. We'll miss you guys! :)

A couple of Skunk Fu animations

2006-09-20T23:23:00.004+02:00

August 18

2006-08-18T18:46:00.002+02:00

This post is just an excuse to say thank you to all the great people in Cartoon Saloon.
Yesterday they sneakly organized a lovely birthday party for me, I was so surpised and happy to see ALL of them in the Skunk Fu room!
Lots of people, food, vino, a cake with candles and Totoro, of course...Sweet!
So thanks everybody, thank you with aaaall my heart. :'')

Marla

2006-08-10T21:09:00.003+02:00

..'Marla' is the short film I've been working on with my friends Alice Lia and Simona Ciraolo, both great artists.
It is all about a pretty and bizarre girl, appeared in a weird situation, who walks in a town that stimulates her crazy imagination. She likes vintage fashion and all the cute and useless, girly objects. And she always gets what she wants, whatever comes her way..
I promised to create a blog just for her, to post all the artwork we've made..and little by little I'll keep my promise.
Inspiration sketch (top) by Alice Lia, Background painting by Donato Sansone

Hope to post the link soon..
Good night

'And I Love' music video

2006-08-10T21:01:00.005+02:00

Here is the videoclip I've made with Alfredo some time ago, trying to find some free hours in the evening... actually very few. The video was commissioned by the irish singer Wayne Brennan and had to look like a "kid's drawing", very very simple in animation and graphic style, keeping the feeling "happy and cute".

Hope you'll enjoy it.

Skunk Fu

2006-08-08T22:53:00.001+02:00

Hi there, I'm finally back from my nice and relaxing holidays in Italy (sigh..)
Actually after two weeks of sunshine, great food, seaside and 36 degrees it was a little bit hard to come back to a cold and rainy Kilkenny...but anyway, here I am and now I can post some stuff again!
I just want to share with you this link, it's the blog of "Skunk Fu".
http://skunkfu.blogspot.com/
I'm working on this show as animator and storyboard artist, it's a very funny and interesting project. Lots of awesome artwork and lovely and talented people.
Check it out :)

Sweeeeet

2006-07-14T01:55:00.003+02:00

Another still frame from my videoclip :)

Back from the profiteroles break

2006-07-14T00:37:00.003+02:00

Here are some other life drawings....
I still remember the cramp I got when I drew the one with my hands :)
And now, after this break...back to animate.
See ya

Some life drawings

2006-07-13T23:52:00.003+02:00

Music video

2006-07-13T22:30:00.002+02:00

Hi again, these are some still frames from the videoclip that my boyfriend and I are making. It is for an Irish singer and it is a love song, so...the cuter the better!
It is drawn in flash, but animated in the 'traditional' way.
Soon it'll be ready to be released.
Good night :)

Ready!

2006-07-13T22:29:00.002+02:00

Hi there and welcome to my blog :) I eventually decided to create a little room for my drawings and my animations, waiting to find a bit of time to organize my website...hopefully one day i will post the link!
My name is Alessandra Sorrentino and I'm a traditional animator. At present I'm working as storyboard artist at Cartoon Saloon, a really nice animation studio in Kilkenny, Ireland.

The drawing of me sleeping is a gift from Alf...:)
Hope you'll enjoy this page
Ale